West Haven Police going encrypted 8/23/16

[SCPD]

And to top it off the PW has gone P25 with a new system too. Not cheap. At least they are not encrypted.....yet. LOL

Lol I'm sure they are using the same equipped hardware too. Most public works use model 2 or 1 of what a pd uses. Just matter of the techs enable it or not. Here we have been testing p25 on pw for while. While most use the old channel time to time most traffic is on a encrypted new channel. Mostly due to fact recreation centers who watch over children, names, phone numbers, details of children need to be given to others across the city. Whay started that pw enc where I am was a registered offender was monitoring and following one of the vans with kids. Then a issue rised with water billing where a resident filed a suit and in it mentioned account details said over a radio system where the public could hear. In end that plus the first led to the change in southwest area I am in. It isn't for potholes or trash but rather details needed from cs to the field worker vice versa of certain things. Just takes one bad apple to give a idea and spoil it. We opted to have user enable switching but powers at be came down said no that gives room for user error so stop the issue before it happens and we end up in another liability suit over children or water consumption details. In end it is a test and no one has noticed yet the new pw channel that is enc. The testing has gone well and the pd and fd will get their new channels soon and be enc. We been slowly installing and rolling them out one by one for the night we tell them complete and dispatch tells pd and fd to go to the new home zone now. Sad times but way it is guess. FWIW here, we been installing side by side with NMSP techs as they been upgrading the digital equipment and keys have been loaded into them and the county end. So interop won't be a issue.

 

[sefrischling]

I am confused LosRio , what Public Works Department transmits information about kids for any reason?

Also, if the NYPD, LAPD, Chicago PD, DPD (Dallas or Detroit), Boston PD, can run wants and warrant info over the air, as well as drivers license info, in the clear, without any legal issues, why would a water department have any problem? What information could possibly be transmitted by a water department while reading a meter that would lead to a legal challenge?

 

[N1SQB]

I'm wwith ya!

Typical waste haven

I LOVE it! I thought I was the only one who called it that! LOL A friend of mine many years ago lived in waste haven. Soon as he got hired by the CSP, he moved right out of there. He used to complain all the time about the rising taxes and how he was having a hard time staying financially afloat.. Luckily he was able to sell his house and move on. A real dump of a town.

Manny

 

[zuzuski]

Kudos for going encrypted. The technology is there. The benefits of encryption outweigh the public / hobbyist need to know.
Dont need the criminals to know my alarm as false and no one is home. Dont need the criminals to know the ambulance took my mother to the hospital, now the house is empty. Dont need the criminals to know when the PD has a surge, and is either on one side of the town, or backed-up on calls.

And you cant use the excuse the the PD cannot talk to the State Police or other PD's - They just have to flip the switch (aka learn how) and they can.

I am a scanner buff like everyone else - but my family's safety comes first.

I'll crank up the HF now...

 

[Technoguy58]

Yea RIIIIGGHHTT!!

IDIOT

 

[SCPD]

Lol and if your family relies on a radio system you better hope interop exists and mutual agreements between those agencies. I have seen border cities on state lines have nothing place. Less then quarter mile from state line a fire department and ems station yet they cannot cross the state line or county line while the area on other side has nothing near the accident scene. Happening right now in a small desert community I know of. No agreements in place, no communication capability between 4 different agencies. Always a cluster in that tri area during head ons, fires, and anything else.

 

[SCPD]

I am confused LosRio , what Public Works Department transmits information about kids for any reason?

Also, if the NYPD, LAPD, Chicago PD, DPD (Dallas or Detroit), Boston PD, can run wants and warrant info over the air, as well as drivers license info, in the clear, without any legal issues, why would a water department have any problem? What information could possibly be transmitted by a water department while reading a meter that would lead to a legal challenge?

Speaking in terms of a child daycare and after school facility running by a local municipal rec center for teens and kids. Some places have thsee programs. They care for kids at recreation centers and go to events, theaters, parks etc. Information such as child's parents names, child info, locations, accidents needing parents information etc while a van of them is out from the center. While one can argue cell phones tell that to employees of a government entity who will not use personal cells in fear of FOIA requests on devices used for public service. Most wont, in this area anyway. A few commission members used cells and tablet devices during official duties. Sure enough a suit happened from some nosey Jane wanting to see the data and information of public records passed through. The court ruled the information be disclosed in the information request. After that and the other suits nobody would use personal cells, or devices with that entity. Result was encrypted public works which the rec center fell under. Since the public works contained numerous entities under it the decision was made to keep all in loop with another as the maintenance end of pw did the care taking of the lawns, facility etc which they communicated to the rec center control center. Over all the public was for it since it involved children and flow of children and facility concerning children. Like I said we had opted to have user capable ability to use a button or switch when need be and we're told no by the powers at be.

The individual involved in the suit obviously had or knew someone using a recieving device. The issue arrised when the address, name, consumption, and past consumption history was broadcast. The reader in field requested a contact number and last payment information to do a emergency shutoff. The owner of the account was the person's daughter. As followed the meter reader needed a address and phone number to contact. The usage was continuous and meter spinning. However with temperatures it was policy to make contact prior any shut off. As you know these days there is people who do not appreciate anything and see dollar signs or opportunities for whatever reason to sue. While many areas have no issue and openly broadcast information with no issue others had hassles for it.

 

[sefrischling]

Kudos for going encrypted. The technology is there. The benefits of encryption outweigh the public / hobbyist need to know.
Dont need the criminals to know my alarm as false and no one is home. Dont need the criminals to know the ambulance took my mother to the hospital, now the house is empty. Dont need the criminals to know when the PD has a surge, and is either on one side of the town, or backed-up on calls.

And you cant use the excuse the the PD cannot talk to the State Police or other PD's - They just have to flip the switch (aka learn how) and they can.

I am a scanner buff like everyone else - but my family's safety comes first.

I'll crank up the HF now...

Actually, DCFD was forced to drop encryption because it was determined that the public right to know outweighed the need for encryption. SFFD at SFO now uses encryption which caused huge problems when the Korean Air 777 crashed as Burlingame FD, the first due response, doesn't have access to SFFD's encrypted channels at SFO ... and it turned out that none of the SFFD units outside the airport could access their encrypted channels either.

Oops.

 

[cralt]

If the only people listening in where us with our $500 scanners that need complicated programing to work then encryption would be hard sell.But now everyone has a smart phone. It takes zero skill to google "West Haven police scanner" and get a live stream right on your phone.

I watched a lot of LiveStreams/parascope/YoutubeLive from the protests and riots that have been going on lately. The internet streams are a tool the agitators have been using against the cops.It lets them know where reinforcements where coming from, where road blocks where set up, where police where being over run. They where using that tool in realtime on the street.
Show that to the chief and encryption is a easy sell.

 

[APX7500X2]

Good for them, They needed the digital upgrade, They had a lot of dead spots.

Derby's new system was encrypted a few times last night, looks like they use it when they want like New Brittan, the coverage of the new derby system is outstanding.

 

[joetnymedic]

In reading about DC's Mayor ordering the Fire Chief to stop encrypting their radio's. While the Fire Department handles life-threatening stuff all day long, I hate to say it but it is night and day to compare the PD to the FD when speaking about encryption. Some people touched on stuff right here. The alarm call with nobody home, etc. I am going to say again, I love being able to listen have been for years, but someone else touched on this as well. It's not the people with the scanners that are an issue. Anybody can search scanner feed or scanner 5-0 and bam your listening. I can deal with hearing stuff but to be honest, I always wondered why Reg checks and some other stuff were broadcast in the clear. Am I going to miss hearing the local PD? Yup, but I hate to say this. They are not the only game in town. There is still a lot of other stuff to monitor out there.
Just my opinion